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Remodel Allowance Or Staging Costs-Getting The Bang For Your Buck

At some point in your life, you will be faced with this decision: do I spend the money and remodel my home, or do I stage it and put it up for sale?

This is a very tough decision for many people, and it requires a great deal of thought and planning. If you are contemplating remodeling versus staging, the following are a few things to consider.

Neighborhood
If you really love the area that you’re living in, moving may not be a good option. You’re familiar with your neighborhood, you know your neighbors, and you feel safe and comfortable. If you move to a new area, you may not have these same feelings.

On the other hand, if your once beautiful neighborhood is making a turn for the worse, moving may be the best option. If you are no longer comfortable in your town or truly need a change of scenery, then bring on the stagers on put your home up for sale.

Your neighborhood can also tell you if remodeling or moving is a good option based on prices. If your town hasn’t been affected by the economy, then you could probably get a decent price for your home. If this is the case, then staging is a good option. But if the price of homes has significantly dropped, you may not be able to make a profit on your home, or you may have trouble competing with local foreclosures in the area. If this seems more like the scenario for your neighborhood, you may want to consider remodeling.Cost
Cost is always an important issue. Some people think that staging is much less expensive than remodeling, and it initially is. But what people fail to realize is that along with paying someone to stage your home, you’ll also need money for the down payment on your new house and the moving crew as well as spending hours trying to find the right home to move to.

For remodeling, you also need to look at your ROI as well as the initial cost of the renovation. If you want to remodel your kitchen and it’s going to cost $20,000, but it will add $60,000 worth of equity to your home, then the investment was well worth it.

On the other hand, you don’t want to make too many additions to a home that you won’t get back on the return. For example, putting $150,000 worth of upgrades into a home located in an area where the average cost of a home is $100,000 is not a smart idea. Most people will not be willing to pay $250,000 for a home when all others in the area are only $100,000, no matter how nice it is.

Personality
Remodeling your home allows you to customize it to your true wants and needs. If you’ve always wanted a walk-in closet in your master bedroom, you can add it in during a remodel. If you want a large great room, you can have it. And you can have it all designed the way you want. When you purchase a new home, you may not be able to find one that has everything you want, so remodeling may be your best option.

Time
Staging a home takes much less time than remodeling. You can have a professional come and stage your home in a few days while it will take a construction crew a few weeks to a few months to complete your project, depending on how detailed and large it is. If you don’t have the time to wait for a construction project to be finished, then staging is the best option.

There’s no one answer that fits every situation. You need to look at all the factors to determine whether or not staging or remodeling are the best option for you. Each one has their own benefits and risks, and it’s important for you to think long and hard about what you want versus what you need to help you make the best decision.